SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: මහ නායක නමුත් ගම තුම්පනේ නොවේද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Though he is the Chief High Priest, is he not from Tumpane
Meaning: Simplicity of the Tumpane villagers. Said to be said in envy of their natural beauty and prosperity by the Tumpane villagers
Context: The story is that a certain High Priest of Kandy wished to feed all the dogs of the place and had them all collected in one pen. When the food had thrown to them, a free fight took place, which caused the King of Kandy to make this remark. Tumpane, in the Central Province, like Maggona, is reputed to produce simpletons
Sinhala figure of speech: ජාති දෙකෙන් නිඹුල්ලුව උපදින්නෝ යක්කුය
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Only demons are bom twins of opposite sex
Meaning: It is considered unlucky by the Sinhalese if the twins are of opposite sex, and it is believed that one of them sure to die, and, if both grow up, it will lead to misfortune
Sinhala figure of speech: ලාන්ට හිතුණයි කියා උඩරට මිනිහා කීවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the Udarata man saying : “I felt like smacking him.”
Meaning: man without moral backbone, who utters “brave” words and courageous sentiments from a secure place without the remotest intention of putting them into effect 
Context: Loku Banda, a stalwart from the hill-country (Kanda-uda-rata), travelled down to Colombo one day on business. He came by train, got down at Maradana, took lodgings for the night at a Bat-kade (eating house) parading under the name of some “Hotel,” and went to the Pettah next morning for the transaction of his business. At the market Loku Banda was the cynosure of every eye, particularly of some street urchins who were greatly impressed by his long flowing beard, heavily streaked with grey, which reached well below the silver hava-diya (metal belt) encircling his ample waist. One brat, more mischievous than the rest, made a sudden dart at the beard, and out came three long hairs, all grey. To pull a man’s beard is a gross form of insult in the Sinhalese country. Loku Banda, however, was hurt more than in his dignity, for the three dislodged hairs had given him physical pain as well. But he said and did nothing in retaliation, never gave even a reproachful look at the culprit. Only, he moved hastily away, then went back to his “Hotel,” ate a hurried meal, took the afternoon train back to Kandy, and thence proceeded on foot to his home, which was situated in distant Galagedara. His house was on the top of a little hill. He climbed up the slope briskly and then, when he had planted his foot firmly on his own veranda, and not till then, did he turn fiercely round and exclaim: “The little Pariah. He pulled my beard, didn’t he? I felt like smacking him on the face, the dirty brute.”
Sinhala figure of speech: පාරු කාරයාගේ උම්බලකඩේ වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ umbalakade ” of the padda-boatman
Meaning: A thing which is constantly trotted forth and whose present value or usefulness is a doubtful quantity 
Context: There was a boatman who prepared his daily soup of Maldives fish (umbalakade) in this wise. Into the boiling water he lowered the piece of Maldives fish and held it there for a while for seasoning. Then he removed the Maldives fish and hung it up in a safe earner of the boat, to be brought out again and used in the same way, day after day, for each new preparation of his soup. The essence of the umbalakade gone after its first boiling, it was practically valueless for the subsequent preparations of the boatman’s soup.
Sinhala figure of speech: වාදේ වැඩි වුණොත් කුඩ මිටි හරවා ගන්ට වේවි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Too much argument leads to brandishing umbrella-handles
Meaning: From argument to fisticuffs, from words to blows
Context: But conditions today are different, and an umbrella is no longer regarded as a necessary mark of respectability and this saying has lost its point today
Sinhala figure of speech: තනේ ඇත්නම් මාමා අම්මාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If one’s maternal uncle has breasts to give milk, he is equal to a mother.
Meaning: the relationship between maternal uncle and his nephews/nieces is so close, or likely to be so
Sinhala figure of speech: මාමාගේ මාපටැගිල්ලට කිරි එරෙනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is said that milk wells up into the thumb of the maternal uncle
Meaning: the relationship between maternal uncle and his nephews/nieces is so close, or likely to be so
Sinhala figure of speech: උඳුපියලි කොළේ වැස්සටත් නියඟටත් දෙකටම එකාකාරයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “Undupiyali” leaf is the same in wet weather as in the dry.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගුරුන්නාන්සේ හිටගෙන හුළිජ්ජ කරනකොට, ගෝළයෝ දුව දුව හුළිජ්ජ කරනවා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When the teacher urinates standing, the pupils do the same running.
Sinhala figure of speech: අසීරුවට මතෙ අප්පුත් වෙදරාළලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even Mathe Appu is Vedar&la in an emergency
Meaning: Getting help from anyone in an emergency
Sinhala figure of speech: රජකම කරන්ට බැරිනම් වෙදකම කරන්ටලු
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If one cannot be a King, one should take to the healing art.
Sinhala figure of speech: වැද්දෝ ගෙවල් තැනීමට කථා කරන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Veddas speaking of building houses
Meaning: something which is never likely to eventuate
Context: When Veddas / Monkeys meet each other on a rainy day, they say "let us build a house, you had better bring one bundle of sticks, I will also bring one”.During the dry weather they just ignore it and building houses remembers when the next rainy season starts.
Sinhala figure of speech: වැද්දා සිතුවොත් ගොරක දඩ මස් කරතෑකිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The Vedda, if he chooses, can turn “ Goraka ” into meat.
Meaning: Those with resourcefulness and talent can create something.
Sinhala figure of speech: රංචාගොඩ ළමයගේ කවි වගෙයි
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the verses of the Ranchagoda girl.
Meaning: Verses which are un- metrical, inconsequential, and inharmonious
Context: There was a young married woman of Ranchagoda (a village near Matara), who achieved some notoriety for her ability to make impromptu Sinhalese verses remarkable chiefly for their lack of rhythm and metro
Sinhala figure of speech: මේක වෙස්සන්තර කාලයක් නොවෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: This is not a Vessantara era.
Meaning: This is not a time for extreme generosity or self-sacrifice.
Context: Vessantara was the name of the Buddha in his last birth but one, in which he gave away his treasures, his wife, and children as religious offerings. The “Vessantara Era” would, therefore, be synonymous with a very religious and charitable ago.”
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇප වෙනවාට වඩා කැප වෙනවා හොඳලු
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is better to become the victim than the surety
Meaning: It is better to commit or dedicate than becoming a guarantor
Sinhala figure of speech: දිනුම් පිලට හෝයියා
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Hurrah for the winning side !
English equivalent: To know which side your bread is buttered on
Meaning: Be aware of where one’s best interests lie
Sinhala figure of speech: අමුතු ගම් ගන්ට ගොස් තිබුණ ගමත් නැතිවුණ වගෙයි
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like losing the village one has by going to get new ones.
Sinhala figure of speech: තමන්ගේ ගමට වල්ලත්, අනුන්ගේ ගමට පොල්ලත් එපාලු
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Vanity in one’s own village and insolence in others’ are both to be avoided.
Sinhala figure of speech: නොයන ගමන කුමට මග විචාළේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Why ask the way to the village which you are not visiting ?
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්දරේ මැරුණට පස්සේ කට හඬක් ඇහුණා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: I hear a voice, (the first) since Andare’s death.
Meaning: Said in derision, since Andare was a clown and buffoon
Sinhala figure of speech: ගඟ අද්දර ඉඳ සීත තපු මිනිහා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the man who warmed himself at the river bank.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉසිරෙන දෙය ලෙව කෑවත් ලාබලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is a gain even to lick up anything that is running to waste.
Sinhala figure of speech: හොඳ දිය බලාගෙන බොර වෙච්ච දිය බොන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Drinking muddy water while gazing at clear water
Meaning: I see and approve of the better, but I follow the worse.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගඟ දිය බීල මුහුදට ආවඩනවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Drinking river water and wishing “ Long Life ” to the ocean.
Sinhala figure of speech: බැහැ යන වතුරෙන් දෝතක් ගත්තත් ලාබලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is a gain to take even two- handfuls of water running to waste.
Sinhala figure of speech: නෙළුම් කොළේ දිය බින්දුව මෙනි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a drop of water on a lotus leaf.
Meaning: Like someone who removes unnecessary things without holding on to them
Sinhala figure of speech: දියේ ඇඳි ඉර වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a line drawn on water
Sinhala figure of speech: බොර දියේ දැම්මා වගෙයි
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like being put in turbid water
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුල් ගෙදරට හිල් කූඩෙන් වතුර අදින්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: lake drawing water, to the wedding-house in a basket full of
 holes.
Meaning: Impossible task
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇල් වතුරෙන් පුලුස්සනවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like scalding with cold water.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇල්ලට බැහැලා පාමං බලන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like stepping into the rapids and looking for footmarks.
Sinhala figure of speech: මුහුදු වතුර බිව්වාට පිපාසය නොසංසිඳෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Sea water will not quench one’s thirst.
Sinhala figure of speech: දිය මිටි තැනින් බහින්නා වගෙයි
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Water always flows down the lowest place.
Sinhala figure of speech: අඩු කළේ දිය සෙලවෙයි
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Water in a half-filled pot shakes
Meaning: It is said that those who are less educated and less knowledgeable are more likely to publicly declare that they know more, while those who are more knowledgeable are more likely to remain silent when necessary.
Sinhala figure of speech: පිරුණු කළේ දිය නොසෙල්වෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Water in a filled pot does not shake
English equivalent: An empty vessel makes much noise
Meaning: The learned are very humble, but the foolish boast.
Sinhala figure of speech: නාහෙන් ඉහළ ගැලු වතුර කොපමණ ගැලුවත් එකලු
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: What matters how higher still is the rise of the water which has already risen above your nose ?
Sinhala figure of speech: රන් ආවුදෙන් ඇන්නත් රිදීම එක ලෙසමයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The pain is the same though you stab even with a golden weapon.
Meaning: Even if it is something very valuable, if it is dangerous, be careful
Sinhala figure of speech: නියඟට පැහුණ වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the untimely ripening due to hot weather.
Sinhala figure of speech: අසල ගෙවල් දෙකේ මගුල් ගත්ත දාට ළඟ ගෙදර බල්ලා බඩගින්නේලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When a wedding takes place in two adjoining houses, the dog.
 of the neighbouring house is left to starve
Sinhala figure of speech: එක තරහකට ළිඳට පැන්නොත් දහ තරහකටත් ගොඩ එන්ට බැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you jump into a well on one provocation, even ten
 provocations will not enable you to get out of it.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගන්නා ළිඳට දිය උනනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The well from which water is constantly drawn always gets fresh supplies
Sinhala figure of speech: හොඳ නරක රත සක වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Good as well as bad is like the cart wheel.
Sinhala figure of speech: හුළඟට දේසනා කරන්නාක් මෙනි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like preaching to the wind.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉඟිකළාම නොදැනෙන්නට කෙල මෝලෙන් ඇන්නත් නොදැනේලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: A blow with a pestle can make no impression on a man to
 whom a wink is of no effect.
Sinhala figure of speech: "මෙහෙම ගෙදරකට කුළු තුනක්වත් ඕනෑයි" කී විත්තිය වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the saying, “ There ought to be at least three winnowingfans for a house like this.”
Meaning: sarcastically to point out a lack of basic necessities or absurd mismanagement
Context: A passenger who stepped into "a road-side house to take shelter for the rain, found the husband and wife under the shelter of two winnowing' fans as the roof of the house was leaking. On Seeing the stranger, the two occupants of the house exclaimed "pity that we haven't another winnowing fan for you." The passenger on hearing this, went away in the rain saying, "there ought to be at least three winnowing fans for a house like this"
Sinhala figure of speech: දනමුත්තොත් මෝඩ වෙනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even wise men are sometimes outwitted
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිය නුවණ ඇතුන්ලවාත් අද්දවන්ට බැරිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You cannot get even elephants to draw back the wisdom that
 has escaped you.
Meaning: The inability to correct a mistake once it has been made by someone
Sinhala figure of speech: මෝඩ කමක් කරලා දැනමුතු වෙන්ට ඕනෑලු
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: You must be foolish to be wise.
Meaning: Learning by mistakes
Sinhala figure of speech: වැවේ කැඩීමත් ගෙදරක ඉන්න කනවැන්දුම් ගෑණිත් යන දෙදෙනාම එකයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A breach in a tank and a widow in a house are alike
Sinhala figure of speech: කට බහ ඇති ගෑණි ඇති කරන කිකිළිත් අඬලනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the hen reared by a talkative woman crows
Sinhala figure of speech: වෑ පස්සෙත් හිර පස්සෙත් සිටින්ට නරකලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is bad to remain behind adzes as well as wives
Meaning: Subjection to petticoat government is as bad as standing behind an adze
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෑනුන්ගේ පින කුලුමුල්ලේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is in a corner of the winnowing-fan that a woman’s good fortune lies.
Context: A “garbage heap” was the place where old people of the household piled up the refuse and sweepings. If a home had no garbage heap, it was taken as a sign that the young woman of that house was a skilled and capable housewife. In a Russian tale called “The Cherry Cart,” a wealthy merchant was searching for a bride for his son. To test the village girls, he filled a cart with cherries and announced that he would give cherries in exchange for the weight of the garbage they brought from their homes.The village girls hurried to bring large heaps of garbage, and in return, they received many cherries. But one young woman brought only a small handful of refuse. She said,“This is all the garbage we have at my home. Please give me just a few cherries for it.”The merchant’s son was impressed by her honesty and the good management it showed of her household. He chose her as his wife.
Sinhala figure of speech: වඳුන් දරුවන් ලැබුවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like barren women getting children
Sinhala figure of speech: වඳ ගෑණිගෙ කීම වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the remark of the barren woman.
Meaning: Commenting on or criticizing something that one is incapable of doing oneself
Context: A barren woman said to the mother of ten or twelve children: “You only bring forth once in two or three years; but, if I were you, I would by this time have brought forth twenty or thirty at the rate of one every year.”
Sinhala figure of speech: එක ගෑණියෙක් මතු බලා ඇඬුවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the way a certain woman cried in anticipation.
Meaning: false or premature claims made to gain attention, sympathy, or advantage
Context: A certain woman on the day of her husband's death, in order to work on the feelings of the bystanders, cried out that she had a child in her womb. This child however was never born
Sinhala figure of speech: පෝරකයට යන්ට ඉණිමගක් නැතිවාට ගෑණියක් ඇතිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Why take a ladder to the gallows when you can go there easily by the help of a woman ?
Meaning: He who listens to the advice of a woman is a fool
Sinhala figure of speech: හිරගෙයට මාර්ගය ගෑණිලූ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Woman is the way to prison.
Meaning: He who listens to the advice of a woman is a fool
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෑනුන් බෝවේ, කළගෙඩි වේලේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Women increase and the water pots become empty.
Meaning: Saying that nothing gets done where a group of women gather
Sinhala figure of speech: වාලා වගේ හම්බකරගන්, රාළ වගේ කාපන්
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Work like a slave and eat like a Lord.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොහොඹ ගහේ උපන් පණුවාට කොහොඹ ගහ තිත්ත නැතිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: There is no sense of sourness to the worm bom on a “ kohomba ” tree.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඝෝෂා අකුරු ලීවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like writing noisy characters
Context: A son who was in a distant country was observed by a friend write a letter to his mother in large characters. On being asked why he wrote such big characters, he replied, 'as my mother is deaf, I write in noisy characters
Sinhala figure of speech: අල බසිනකල් උන්නෑකිලු, තැම්බෙන කල් ඉන්ට බැරිලු
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: He is patient till the yams grow, but not till they are boiled
Meaning: A person who has worked hard for a long time with hope but loses patience and is unable to see or enjoy the end result.
Sinhala figure of speech: අලේ ලොකුවට බැස්සොත් ඉන්දු එකාටත් උගෙ අඹුටත් හොඳලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If yams grow big, both the planter and his wife will benefit.
Sinhala figure of speech: මේක මහ යොන් මැරිල්ලකි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: This is a great “ Yon ” (Moorish) slaughter
Sinhala figure of speech: අලියා පුස් වැල කෑවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the Elephant eating the “pus-vela”
Sinhala figure of speech: මගේ වෑක්කයේ මට කොතන ඉන්ට බැරිද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Where can’t I be within my division ?
Meaning: Escaping blame or trouble through quick thinking or audacious reasoning.
Context: This was said by a Headman when he was caught in an awkward situation. He was discovered in a neighbour’s house, emerging from a room where the latter’s wife was reclining. The husband, unexpectedly appearing, asked what he was doing there at that time of the day. The reply was as above, and the Headman got away with it
Sinhala figure of speech: දුවන්ට බැරි අයගේ ලය ගලලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: He has a heart of stone who is unable to run
Sinhala figure of speech: පිත් නැත්තම් හිත් කොයින්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: How can there be a heart if there’s no bile ?
Sinhala figure of speech: උපා දන්නෝ අපා නොවැටෙත් 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The wily can escape Hell.
Meaning: Tactful people will not “put their foot into it.
Sinhala figure of speech: කිකිළි තාර බිත්තර රැක්කා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the hen hatching duck eggs. 
Meaning: Taking care of someone else's property, thinking it's their own, but not getting any benefit from it
Sinhala figure of speech: මහලු වුණම යකත් තපස් රකින්ට කැමතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the devil wants to be a hermit in old age.
Sinhala figure of speech: අසීරුවට හිඟුරු වැලෙත් එල්ලෙන වාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In cases of necessity, even the “ Hinguru ” creeper is good to cling on to. 
Meaning: To say that when the need increases, one has to take advantage of the unsuitable thing or the unsuitable person.
Sinhala figure of speech: උදැල්ලේ පස් බඩ තුරටයි කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like saying the earth from the hoe (mammoty) reaching (no further than) the loin-cloth (of the digger.)
Sinhala figure of speech: කනේ මීපැණි වක්කරනවා වගෙයි  
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like pouring honey into the ear.
Meaning: Praising a man highly within his hearing
Sinhala figure of speech: පැණි තියෙන තැන ඇඹලයෝ හිඟ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Where there is honey, there is no lack of ants.
Sinhala figure of speech: වංශය කබල් ගෑවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like frying one’s honour. 
Meaning: A person with no ability talking about the dignity of her generation
Context: The parents, who had given away their daughter in marriage to a poor man on account of his high birth, went to see the daughter sometime after the marriage. The daughter had nothing in the house to offer her parents to eat. So, in a fit of rage, she went and placed an old frying-pan over the fire and pretended as if she were stirring up its contents. When asked by the old pair what she was doing, she replied “I am trying to fry the honour you got for me”
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙබරෙට ගල් ගැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like throwing stones at the nest of the hornet.
English equivalent: Stir up a hornets' nest
Meaning: A state of great anxiety caused by the stirring of something unpleasant
Context: The nest of the hornet (debaraya) is usually built of clay, is attached to the branches of trees and is as large as a common basket or beehive. The sting of the debara, a large species of the wasp or hornet (Hymenoptera family) is so exceedingly poisonous that the Sinhalese will sooner forfeit the fruit of a tree where this nest is built than attempt to destroy it
Sinhala figure of speech: මළගිය අයගේ කේන්ද්‍රය බැලුවායින් කවරනම් ප්‍රයෝජනද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What’s the use of consulting the horoscope when the man is dead ?
Sinhala figure of speech: අශ්වයාට අං දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving horns to a horse.
Meaning: Giving reasons to make the proud even more proud
Sinhala figure of speech: අශ්වයාට අං නොලැබුණ වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the horse not getting horns.
Sinhala figure of speech: තුට්ටු දෙකට අශ්වයා ගන්නත් ඕනෑ, තාප්පෙට උඩින් පනින්නත් ඕනෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You want both to buy a horse for two pice and also one that could jump over the wall. 
Meaning: You can't expect high results from cheap products.
Sinhala figure of speech: වෑවරයත් කාලා අම්මත් කැටුව ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like eating my young coconuts and even running away with my mother to the bargain. 
Meaning: gross abuse of trust or generosity
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුන්ගේ මගුල් දාට තමුන්ගේ ආදරේ පෙන්වන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like showing your hospitality at another’s wedding.
English equivalent: Cocks make free with the horse's corn
Meaning: Liberality at the expense of others
Sinhala figure of speech: නොකා ඉන්න ගෙදරට වඩා හොඳයි කැඳ බොන ගෙදර 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A congee-drinking house is better than a non-eating house.
Meaning: Something is better than nothing - that it is not what is required, but that it is better to have that thing than to have nothing at all
Sinhala figure of speech: යකාට බයනම් සොහොන් ගෙය නොසාදනු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Do not build your house in a cemetery if you are afraid of the Devil. 
Meaning: To say that one is ready to face anything when faced with something.
Sinhala figure of speech: පාලු පැල් රැක්කා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like guarding deserted huts,
Sinhala figure of speech: තමන්ගේ ගෙයි දොර ඇර තබා අනුන්ගේ ගෙදර බල්ලන්ට ගහන්ට ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like leaving- your own doors open and chasing dogs from another’s house.
Sinhala figure of speech: හොදි උතුරා ගෙය ගිනි නොගනී 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The house will not catch fire if the gravy (soup) bubbles over.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙට නිවට එලිපත්තලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The lowliest thing in a house is the threshold’. 
Meaning: The lowliest thing in a house is the threshold - Because everybody tramples it, even the low caste beggar who comes for alms
Sinhala figure of speech: පැල් ලැග්ගා ගිනි තැප්පාට හිලව්ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Warmed himself (at the fire) to make up for his vigil in the watch-hut.
Sinhala figure of speech: කුදු මිනිහාට කෙළින් වෙලා යන්ට කියා බලකළාට යන්ට පිළිවන්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can a hunchback be forced, to walk erect ?
Sinhala figure of speech: බඩ ගින්න රස නොදනීලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Hunger knows no taste.
Sinhala figure of speech: දඩයම් බල්ලන් බැඳ තබාගෙන මගෝඩි බල්ලන් ගෙන ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like going to the chase with curs when you have hunting-dogs tied up at home.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉක්මන්ට කොරස් කටෙන් අතලන්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In a hurry you sometimes cannot put your hand even into a “ Koraha.” 
Meaning: Even simple tasks cannot be accomplished when you are anxious.
Context: A Koraha is a wide-mouthed earthen jar.
Sinhala figure of speech: ප්‍රයෝග භක්තිය තුන් ඉරට්ට පාපය වේ 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Hypocritical fervour is a three-fold sin
Sinhala figure of speech: ලෙඩ හොඳ වෙන්නේ බලි කාලා නොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is not by eating “ bali ” that illness is cured.
Sinhala figure of speech: වෙහෙර ගිල්ල මිනිහාට පිළිමේ අග්ගලාවක්ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: An image is like a sweetmeat to the man who has swallowed a “ Vihara.”
Meaning: It is not difficult for someone who has done a serious job to do something less serious.
Sinhala figure of speech: කෙවුලා ගුනේ නැත, ලබු මල් සුවඳ නැත 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Ungrateful is the “Kevula,” and unfragrant the “ Labu- mala.”
Sinhala figure of speech: ප්‍රවේසමට තැබූ යකඩේ ඈලියාවට හිටියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the iron kept for.safe custody getting a sort of purging disease.
Sinhala figure of speech: දූවට අසුවුණ හිවලා වගෙයි 
Literal translation: Like the jackal entrapped in the Island.
Sinhala figure of speech: අතේ හකුරුත් පොලුත් තිබෙනවනම් කොයි ගඟෙන් වතුර බිව්වත් මොකද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: If I have jaggery and coconut in my hand, what does it matter of what river I drink ? 
Meaning:  That if someone has the money or resources that someone else needs, they can get anything they want.
Sinhala figure of speech: අතේ හකුරු ඇත්තම් කොයි ළිඳේත් දිය ඇතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Jaggery in hand, you can get water from any well.
Meaning: Everyone treats you well when you have money in your hand
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩින් හකුරු යටින් කතුරු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Jaggery on top, scissors underneath. 
Meaning: One who feigns friendship with the intent to deceive
Sinhala figure of speech: වක්කඩේ හකුරු හැංගුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like hiding jaggery in a “ vakkade.” 
Meaning: To put something in a place where it will be destroyed.
Sinhala figure of speech: සුදු හකුරාගේ කීම වගෙයි 
Literal translation: Like the remark of the “ Sudu-hakura.”
Sinhala figure of speech: වැල වහල්ලෙත් කෝඳුරුවෙක් ඉගිලුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a solitary eye-fly, flying away from the core of a mellow jak fruit.
Meaning: The one which flew away was one out of ten thousand or more
Sinhala figure of speech: බත් ඇති තැනටමයි කොසුත් 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: “ Jak ” also (goes to the place) where there is rice.
Sinhala figure of speech: ජාඩියට මූඩිය වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like a lid that just suits the jar. 
Meaning: something is said to fit 'to a t' it fits exactly, properly, and precisely.
Sinhala figure of speech: හැම විජ්ජාවට වඩා ගැල විජ්ජාව හොඳයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The best jugglery is the jugglery of escape from trouble. 
Meaning:  It is better to be prudent than merely courageous
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩ පැන්නොත් බිම වැටෙලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you jump up, you will also fall down.
Meaning: something good will not last forever
Sinhala figure of speech: රිංගන්ට පිළිවන්නම් බැද්ද රජ මාවතලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The jungle is a Royal highway to the man who can creep through.
Sinhala figure of speech: කහ කුරුල්ලා තැඹිලි ගෙඩිය උඩ වාඩිවුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ kaha-kurulla ” sitting on a king-coconut.
Sinhala figure of speech: කලියුගයේ ගොමරි යට යනවා, තිරිවාණ ගල් උඩ එනවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In the Kaliyuga age, dry cow-dung sinks below and the “ Tirivane ” stone comes up (to the surface of the earth.)
Context: In the Kaliyuga age, dry cow-dung sinks below and the “Tirivane “stone comes up to the surface of the earth. Kaliyuga is the fourth age of the world. According to the Hindus, it corresponds with the Iron Age or Age of Vice. The commencement of the Kaliyuga Age is placed about 3,101 years anterior to the Christian Era. The number of its years is 432,000, at the expiration of which the world is to be destroyed. The Tiruvana-gala is white stone, quartz
Sinhala figure of speech: කාළුහාමිගේ අප්පොච්චි අශ්වයා දැවද්දට දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Kaluhamy’s father’s gift of his horse as dowry.
Sinhala figure of speech: කළු නික කාලා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like having eaten “ kalu-nika.”
Sinhala figure of speech: කළුවා මාරපන් ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Kaluva’s trip to Marapona.
Meaning: Doing something that is of no use to anyone without understanding what is being said
Context: A certain Nilame told his servant Kaluwa that he was to go to the village of Marapana, intending to send a letter by him. But before the Nilame could fetch the letter Kaluwa started off. Being asked on his return why he went away in that manner, Kaluwa replied that he only did what he was told. He was asked to go Marapana, and he did so
Sinhala figure of speech: කපුවාගේ පුතා දේවාලේ කැත කළාට දෙවියෝ තරහා වෙන්නේ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The God does not get angry when the Kapurala’s son befouls the Devalaya.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොහොඹ ගහට කරවිල වැල ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ karivila ” creeper twining round the “ kohomba” tree. 
Meaning: The combination of something bad or someone bad with another bad thing or another bad person
Context: One day, a suitor came to visit Andare’s elder sister, to see her with the thought of marriage. The family entrusted Andare with the task of welcoming the visitors and speaking on behalf of the household. As was his habit, Andare greeted everyone with proper courtesy and, after asking permission, began his talk. In his usual playful manner, he mixed verse and poetry into his speech, even using a poem to describe how well his sister and the suitor matched each other. At the end of his poem, he included the saying “like the karavila vine twining around the kohomba tree.” This witty comparison burst the gathering into laughter, and Andare had once again managed to drown the whole company in a sea of smiles.
Sinhala figure of speech: නහැදෙන්නේ කරුමෙටයි 
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: Non-growth is due to “ Karma.”
Sinhala figure of speech: යකුන් නැටුවාට පසු කට්ටඩියාව වහු කණුවටත් එපාලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When the “ devil-dancing ” is ended, the “ kattadiya ” is useless even as a calf-post.
Context: “Devil-dancing” (Yakun-netima) is a ceremonial dancing to propitiate the demons. The Kattadiya is a “sorcerer, enchanter, magician, expeller of devils, devil priest or dancer” “Calf-post” is a log or post to which calves are tied
Sinhala figure of speech: කැකිල්ලේ රජ්ජුරුවන්ගේ නඩුව වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the justice of the King of Kekilla. 
Meaning: Innocent people being punished due to wrong judgment
Context: Certain thieves burgled a house, and, while engaged in their nefarious work, a wall collapsed and killed one of them. The rest of the thieves made complaint to the King of Kekilla, who, enquiring as to the person responsible for this loss of life, was told that it was presumably the house-owner, who had no business to live in so dilapidated a building. The house-owner was sent for, but he protested that the blame was not his, but the masons who was responsible for the construction. The mason in turn repudiated guilt and fastened it on the plasterer, who had probably added an excessive quantity of water to his mortar- mixture. The plasterer, on being sent for, admitted the excess of water, but attributed it to the fault of the water-pot, which had had an unusually large mouth. The potter was then brought up, but he had his own valid excuse. He admitted the largeness of the mouth of the pot, but the blame for that lay with a certain beautiful woman who had passed by while he was moulding the vessel. Her beauty had distracted his attention and he had, while gazing at her, unconsciously fashioned a mouth too large for the pot. The woman was then haled up before the King, but she had herself a good and ready excuse. She had not been out to distract the potter at all. She had given some sovereigns to the village goldsmith to make some jewellery for her, and as the man had delayed completing the work, she had gone out to remonstrate with him. They brought up the goldsmith then a lank, bony individual and he had no excuse to give at all. The King thereupon ordered him to be killed on the spot in the usual way, viz. to be gored by the Royal Tusker (elephant). The man, however, demurred, not because he feared to die, but because the King would thus do himself irreparable damage. “How?” asked the ruler, whereupon the goldsmith replied, “Your Majesty can See for yourself what a scarecrow of a man I am a skeleton, no more than skin and bone. The tusk of “the elephant will pierce through me easily, but break when it strikes the rock behind me, and the Royal Tusker will be disfigured for all time.” “But, man, how can I avoid it? “asked the King, and the goldsmith replied, “There lives next door to me, Your Majesty, a fat Moorman (Muslim) who can take my place without injury to the Royal Elephant, and I pray that he be substituted for me.” “That is an excellent suggestion,” commented the King, who thereupon had the fat Moorman brought and gored to death in his presence. In such wise was the responsibility for the death of the burglar fixed on the fat Moorman, who was punished “according to the justice of the King of Kekilla”
Sinhala figure of speech: කොපමණ වර්ෂාව තිබුණත් කෑදැත්තා දිය පිපාසයෙන්ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: However much rain there may be, the “ Kendetta ” is always thirsty.
Sinhala figure of speech: බත් මුණෙන් ඇත් මූණ බිඳෙනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The rice-face overcomes the elephant face.
Meaning: That by giving food, any world can be pacified
Sinhala figure of speech: රජකම් කරන්ට බැරිනම් වෙදකම් කර්න්ටලු 
Type: [කියමන්] 
Literal translation: If you cannot be a King, then take to the healing art.
Sinhala figure of speech: රජුන් යන මග දිළින්දොත් යනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Poor men, too, travel on the same road as Kings,
Sinhala figure of speech: රජුන්ගේ කරුණාව උරුමයක් නොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The favour of Kings cannot be an inheritance (i.e. hereditary property).
Sinhala figure of speech: රජුන් සේවය කළෝ දිනුවොත් ඇති, පැරදුණෙත් ඇති 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: There are losers as well as gainers among those who serve Kings.
Sinhala figure of speech: කිරි ගහට මෝල් ගහෙන් ඇන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like knocking the milky tree with a pestle
Meaning: To do or say something very successfully, exactly to the intended goal.
Sinhala figure of speech: තෙලෙන් බැද්දත් කොබයියා කොබයියාමයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is still a “ kobeyiya,” though fried in oil
Meaning: Even though the area changes and the time changes, the innate qualities and habits of people do not change.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොහොඹ ඇටේ නෑව්වාට තිත්ත රසේ කොයිබ යාද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Though you wash a “ kohomba ” seed (with water), where will its bitterness go ?
Meaning: No matter how much help you give, that evil quality of a bad person will not go away.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොරවගේ උගුලේ මොකා අසුවුණත් එකලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: It’s all the same whatever animal is caught in the “ Korava’s ” trap.
Sinhala figure of speech: නමින් කොස්වත්තේ, තම්බා කන්ට පොලොසුත් නැත්තේ.
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though named “ Kosvatta,” it hasn't even a single young “ jak ” to boil and eat. 
Meaning: A name is only a label. Good or bad fortune does not come from names, but from one’s deeds.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොට්ටෝරුවට කෙහෙල් ගහ හම්බුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ Kottoruva ” coming across a plantain tree
Meaning: A person who fights with everyone and wins will get into trouble when he clashes with someone who is stronger than him.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමරාළ කුරක්කන් කන්ට බැරුව රූණු ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the Gama-rala who went to Ruhuna because he could not eat “ kurakkan.” 
Context: He went to Ruhuna in search of better food instead of Kurakkan. Ongoing there, however, he found that the fingers of its inhabitants had wasted by their constantly handling kurakkan porridge, this being the staple food of the people there.
Sinhala figure of speech: කුලී කුරක්කන්ට ගොස් ඉම් ගම් කුමටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Having gone to do hired “kurakkan” work, why inquire about the boundaries of the village ?
Sinhala figure of speech: නිකන් යන්න බැරි ඉණිමගේ හුණු කුල්ලක් බදාගෙන යන්නේ කොහොමද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can you carry a winnow of chunam up a ladder which you cannot scale even without such a burden ?
Sinhala figure of speech: අහසට ඉණිමං බඳිනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like setting up ladders to reach the sky
Meaning: Engaging in a futile activity
Sinhala figure of speech: ලාභ ලොකු කරගන්න  ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like setting up ladders to reach the sky
Context: The story is that there was a strong feeling in a certain village about the King’s portion of paddy, which was considered to be too large. An assembly of the villagers decided to make respectful representations to the King, and one man was deputed to wait upon His Majesty and explain the situation. The man set forth bravely enough, but when he got near the neighbourhood of the palace his courage had oozed out a bit. As he crossed the palace gates, he was quite nervous about his business, and when, in due course, he was ushered into the King’s presence, he was absolutely sick with fear. “Why have you come. Sirrah? “asked the King, somewhat sternly, and the poor yokel, now quaking about his knees, stuttered feebly, “I came, Your Majesty, to get the laha (measure) made bigger” which was exactly the opposite of what he had come to beseech His Majesty. The King, now quite pleased, readily agreed and immediately gave instructions that the contribution from the man’s village should be increased thenceforth a circumstance which convinced the villagers that they would have done better to have let things well alone
Sinhala figure of speech: ගම රාළට ඇවුලු පහනෙන් සේවකයන් එළිය බලනවලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The lamp lit for the Headman’s use gives light to the Lascarin, too.
Sinhala figure of speech: භාෂාව ඉගෙනීමට ආසාව තිබු පමණින්ම පිළිවන්ද ?
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: Desire alone will not suffice to learn a language.
Sinhala figure of speech: ලන්චි සීයාගේ අන්තිම අවවාදය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Grandfather Lavanchi’s last advice
Sinhala figure of speech: ලබ්බ දෙගව්වයි, ලබු වැල ගව්වයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “labba” is two “gavvas” away, the “labu” creeper one “ gavva.”
Sinhala figure of speech: වනන්තරේ ඉඳිතත් නඩු ක්‍රමය දැනෙනවයි කියා නරි නයිදේ කීවාලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The fox claimed to know Law though he lived in the jungle
Sinhala figure of speech: කම්මැලි කම පාපයේ මුල් පියාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Laziness is the original father of sin
Sinhala figure of speech: මුහුන් ටික නෙදී වැස්සි පස්සේ එවන්ඤඤයි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: (Like the man who) refused a little leaven but promised to send a she-calf.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහ දන්නාට කොළ කඩා පාන්නේ කුමටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: What is the use of breaking and showing the leaves to one who knows the tree ? 
English equivalent: Teaching grandmother to suck eggs
Meaning: To teach a small part of something to someone who knows a lot about it
Sinhala figure of speech: කූඩැල්ලාගෙ මූණට දෙහි ඇඹුල් මිරිකුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: I ike squeezing lime into the face of a leech
Sinhala figure of speech: කූඩැල්ලා එක පළක් අල්ලාගෙනයි අනිත් පළ අත්හරින්නේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The leech lets go his hold of one place only when he has secured another
Sinhala figure of speech: කූඩැල්ලා මෙත්තේ ඉන්දුවාට ඉඳීද ? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will a leech remain on a mattress even though you place it there ?
Sinhala figure of speech: බරවා කකුලේ හැක ඇරියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like dispelling the fear of the “ Cochin-leg.”
Sinhala figure of speech: ලෙවිල්ලෙන් කැවිල්ල නැතිවෙනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Licking may cost you the eating. 
English equivalent: Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow
Meaning: Don't let slip the things you have that are real and substantive in the pursuit of the ephemeral, the prospective, or the offhandedly promised
Sinhala figure of speech: බොරුවට පණ නැහැ 
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: A lie has no life.
Sinhala figure of speech: අනේ කාලේ වනේ වාසේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation:  (Seek) the forest life in these evil times
Meaning:  Staying away from friends during bad times
Sinhala figure of speech: ලබ්බේ දෙහි කැපුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the lime-cutting ceremony within the “labu-gediya.”
Meaning: Performing a lot of work in a confined space
Context:  In a remote village, once upon a time, when the harvesting was over, the villagers arranged for the performance of the ceremony of cutting lime (to avert the evil effects of the “evil eye” or “evil tongue ”), on the day of the measuring of the paddy. When, however, the invocation of devils was in progress, a heavy shower of rain began to fall, and the chief of the exorcists asked, “How, now, friends? How can we proceed with the ceremony without ashed?” The husbandman looked around and, seeing a huge diya-labu-gediya (long gourd) on a creeper growing in a corner of their field, suggested they should get inside it. The exorcists agreed and entered the fruit in order to continue the ceremony interrupted by the rain. So engrossed were they inside with their incantations on the one hand, and so comfortable on the other with the warmth of their surroundings the cold winds had no power to inconvenience them in their place that they did not realise how exactly they were drifting. What happened was that their sheltering gourd (the labu-gediya), floating in a pool of water created by the heavy rains, drifted little by little to the river hard by, whence it was carried to the open sea. There, a large fish swallowed the fruit, and a little later a huge bird, gulping down the fish, rested upon a rock for a while. A man, however, then came to the scene and, shooting the bird, took it home to serve as food to a party of people who were expected to arrive shortly in connection with a marriage proposal for him. When the bird was cut open, there was seen the fish, and he exclaimed, “Two curries, not one, the Gods be praised.” When the fish was cut and he saw the labu-gediya inside, “Three curries, my goodness, not two!” he yelled in a transport of delight. He' fell back in a fainting fit, however, when he cut the neck of the fruit, for out walked the exorcists of the paddy field, still at their incantations of “Denna-dena-dedira-mande- ndnd.”
Sinhala figure of speech: කොපමණ සාගිනි වුණත් සිංහයා තණකොළ නොකයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: However starving a lion may be, he will never eat grass.
Sinhala figure of speech: නිදන සිංහයා නැගිටුවා හැරීම නුවණට හුරුනොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: It is unwise to rouse a sleeping lion
Meaning: A person who is at a disadvantage provokes someone who can cause trouble and suffers the consequences.
Sinhala figure of speech: සිංහ තෙල් දමන්ට රත්රන් භාජනයක් ඕනෑලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You want a golden vessel to hold the lion’s grease
Sinhala figure of speech: අංවටින තිබුණු පලියටම අනීවිද?
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will [it] gore just because the horns are there?
Meaning: That even though they had some power, they wouldn't take advantage of it.
Sinhala figure of speech: අග පැලිච්ච බටලීය වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a flute split at the tip
Meaning: Used to describe someone who speaks harshly, someone who reads too much, or someone who is talkative.
Sinhala figure of speech: අටුවේ තිබ්බත් එකයි, කොටුවේ තිබ්බත් එකයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is the same whether kept in the granary or kept in the enclosure
English equivalent: It’s all one 
Meaning: There is no change however you do it
Sinhala figure of speech: අටුව කඩා පුටුව හදනවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Making a chair out of the loft
English equivalent: Rob Peter to pay Paul
Meaning: Taking a big loss for a small profit to satisfy a small need
Sinhala figure of speech: අටුවෙන් දුමට බැස්සා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like descending from the granary to the smoke-rack
Meaning: Getting into more trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: අට්ටික්කා / අත්තික්කා / දිඹුල් ගහේ මල් පිපුණා වගේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like flowers blossoming on an attikka tree
Meaning: Something to be surprised about
Sinhala figure of speech: අඩියෙන් අඩිය ආවත් ගමට ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even a step in advance leads to the village
Meaning: By doing it slowly they can achieve their goal, and that there is no difference between doing so and going all at once.
Sinhala figure of speech: අණ්ඩර / අන්දර, දෙමළ කතා කරනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Andare talking in Tamil
English equivalent: Talk Double Dutch
Meaning: Used when someone is speaking in a manner that is difficult or impossible to comprehend